BPE says there's no plan to privatise TCN

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has revealed that there is no plan to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

This was disclosed by the BPE’s Energy Department on Monday in Abuja, as it added that the Federal Government would concession it for more efficient operations, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Mr Yunana Malo, Director, Energy Department said the transmission was the weak link in the power reform, as generation which was privatised had since attracted a lot of investments, making it more efficient.

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He said the generation capacity had improved, adding that 60 per cent of the distribution segment had also been partially privatised and was beginning to pick up through the reforms of the Federal Government.

“The seemingly weak link is the transmission component, it is still 100 per cent owned by the FG.

“The idea is to think outside the box and bring in solutions that will make the transmission component service the value chain, and make it more efficient.

“Government is not thinking of privatising, it is thinking of ways and means that the private capital can be brought into the transmission component without giving out the ownership of Transmission Company,” Malo said.

He disclosed that Bureau would concession the transmission segment, “so that we can have somebody building the high tension lines, covering areas that have not been reached or to maintain the existing ones to get maximum value, to move from the radial system we have today into a mesh.”

“So the idea is not to privatise but to reform and make it efficient, bringing in private sector operational modalities within the transmission company,” he said, citing that the FG’s 40% stake in the Distribution Companies (DISCOS), was still intact and protected by BPE.